Apparatus and method for housing electronic equipment and increasing floor space utilization in a secure environment

ABSTRACT

A secure electronic equipment rack allows electronic equipment to be hung vertically to save space for deep components. This is done by providing a vertical rack apparatus with horizontal side panels on which components are mounted vertically. The side panels of the rack are shorter than the depth of the components to be mounted on, to, or within the panels, thus allowing space to be saved. The rack can be expanded based on user&#39;s equipment growth. The apparatus can be mounted on a wall or on a standard EIA relay rack. The apparatus has cable management for equipment that fits into wire channels and allows having a patch panel mounted without taking up a “U” space in the apparatus itself. The apparatus can include a built-in level for ease of mounting, and an integrated earth grounding stud. A secure version can include tamper resistance by adding baffling of ventilation areas, for example in both top and bottom vent patterns, and can be designed to be assembled in an overlapping fashion which allows no exposed hardware with the last piece to be assembled being the first to be removed in sequence.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/140,180, filed on Apr. 27, 2016 and issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,321,598 on Jun. 11, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/442,728, filed on Apr. 9, 2012, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/109,228, filed onApr. 24, 2008 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,000 on Apr. 10, 2012,which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 60/926,384, filed on Apr. 26, 2007, which applications areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter relates generally to a rack for allowingcomputer equipment to be mounted vertically to save floor space.

BACKGROUND

The computer industry focuses on manufacturing modular components withuniform widths and incremental heights, expressed as a “U” height where1U equals 1.75 inches. This invariably results in standard depthcabinets. Thus, each U space is an industry standard 1.75 inches—6Udepth would be 14 inches, 8U depth would be 17.5 inches, 10U depth wouldbe 21 inches, and so on. Standard cabinets usually mount componentshorizontally and have from 25 to 34 inches in allowable component depth,with overall cabinet depths as much as 40 inches. The U height faces thefront of a cabinet, and 40U to 42U are available in standard cabinets.In larger “Data Center” applications, these cabinets can house dozens tohundreds of U spaces in equipment. Because these cabinets mount modularcomponents horizontally, they waste a lot of space.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a rack for safely securing industry standard rack mountedelectronic equipment of all types and system configurations in anon-typical manner, in this case, vertically versus horizontally,allowing substantial savings in required floor space when compared toother equipment cabinets. Our rack can be used in any application and isparticularly suited for small and mid-sized companies that need only 4Uto 10U in equipment storage and typically do not have a dedicated roomor closet for such equipment. However, our rack can provide more U spaceas required.

Standard full size, horizontal mount, cabinets need access to front andback doors and often side panels, thus increasing actual floor spacerequirements even more. To meet space requirements our novel equipmentrack allows rack mount form factored equipment to be mounted vertically,instead of horizontally, as a system in a secured environment and allowsup to 400 pounds of rack mount form factored equipment to be mounted.Our rack has interchangeable 4U, 6U and 8U bracket sets, bottom ventedpanel or bottom fan tray, top lockable cover, and utilizes a common backplate, or base, with a front panel that includes a built-in level forease of mounting. The rack has an effective working depth of 26 inchesfor the use of all rack mount form factored equipment, withoutrestriction as to equipment function. Examples include, withoutlimitation, fiber optic nodes, phone systems, broadband hubs, powerconditioning, power backup, power distribution and data networking. Thisworking depth is the vertical dimension in our application and can beexpanded based on the user's equipment growth. The apparatus can bemounted on any solid surface such as a wall or a relay rack, for examplea two-post rack, and is easily installed by a single technician. Therack can be Implemented in a commercial version or a secure version.

Commercial Version of Rack

In one implementation, our rack allows 4U of vertically mounted rackmount form factored equipment to be mounted in an apparatus with a totaldepth from wall of only 11 inches. In addition, the apparatus includesan additional 2U of patch panel space available integrated in the mainback plate, or base. The rack can also include an integrated commonearth grounding stud on the base for safety.

Our rack allows the use of all rack mount form factored equipment to beoptimized in restricted access as well as space applications. This isdone by an equipment frame substantially improving the use of all rackmountable equipment optimized in restricted space applications.

Our rack further allows the use of interchangeable support arms in 4U to10U, or other suitable dimension) increments that allow for expansionwithout full replacement of rack mount form factored systems and can bemounted on any solid flat vertical surface and industry standard 19 inchrelay racks, e.g., two-post racks. Solid flat surfaces our rack can bemounted on include, but are not limited to, walls such as pouredconcrete, concrete block, brick and gypsum with wood studs 16 inches oncenter. An integrated standard mounting pattern for 1U or 2U CAT5e patchpanels further increases installation efficiency and space utilizationof our system. When used with integrated cable management bridge lancesto dress and tie down both power and data cabling, this furtherincreases installation efficiency and space utilization of cabinetsystems.

Our rack also allows data and power cabling access from top, bottom orback. Further, the back panel allows feed through of data cabling andairflow.

When our rack is used as taught herein, rack mount form factoredequipment can be optimized in restricted space applications withtwo-post mounting configured “back to back”. In this configurationtwo-post racks can be used. As one example, the two-post rack can becomprised of extruded aluminum with threaded holes on both front andback faces, materials other than aluminum can be used. The rack canmount through this hole pattern and can be set flush to the mountingsurface for back-to back installation for increased component density.

Another feature of our rack is threaded holes (2 per side in oneembodiment) in the back plate to allow retainer screws to be installedthrough the brackets to keep the brackets from dislodging duringequipment installation, service or by accidental impacts.

Secure Version of Rack

Our rack can also be made in one or more secure versions forinstallation in places like prison facilities and can have extra levelsof tamper resistance that make the rack very difficult to damage, openby picking or prying, disable, sabotage, and other activities thatintended to prevent internal equipment from operating. Thisdifferentiates a secure version from a commercial version.

For example, while a commercial version of the rack could have louversor a venting hole pattern on the top part of the base, and/or the sidesor the top cover, for convection cooling, a secure version can includetamper resistance by adding baffling of ventilation areas, for examplein both top and bottom vent patterns.

As another example, while a commercial version of our rack can have abottom fan tray that would have fans with wire grills and be applicablein most situations, a secure version can have an additional layer on theoutside containing offset baffles wherein the fans cannot be tamperedwith or easily splashed with liquids.

Likewise, a commercial version could have a single cam lock without asecurity collar or escutcheon and be acceptable for most situations. Thesecure version can have two cam locks with security collars and thestandard pivoting cam lever replaced with a custom double cam, thusallowing four points of contact for locking the cover of the cabinet.

As yet another example, the commercial version could have 2U of space toallow patch panel rack mountable components in most situations, whereasthe secure version could prevent using this space on the base so thatthe secure cover of the rack can use the inside edges to align the coverand thus improve tamper resistance of the cover.

Finally, the rack can be designed to be assembled in an overlappingfashion which allows no exposed hardware throughout system with the lastpiece to be assembled being the first to be removed in sequence in Alockable cover, with double cams as set forth above. This feature wouldusually have no exposed mounting hardware, and nothing to disassemble.Thus it would not allow unauthorized access, damage or theft. In thisdesign the back plate or base can be mounted to a wall or two-post rack.The side brackets would slip into place, as discussed herein, secured inplace by screws, such as set screws in one example. The top cover lockswould slide through the front panel cut-outs, can fully enclose thespace, and can be secured with one or two locks as set forth above.

The rack has an optional fan in a fan tray, but can have convectioncooling with a vented bottom panel of the base, with vented upper sidesof the base if desired. There can be fans housed in the bottom of thepanel assembly of the base to force air in or out. There can also be aforced air fan assembly in the bottom panel assembly with an internalthermal switch for increased efficiency and fan life. A thermal sensorswitch can be mounted in side the rack cabinet and can turn on wheninternal temperature reaches a certain level and shut off when thetemperature drops to a predetermined level; such as, for example, 25degrees F. Thus the fan would run only when needed, increasing servicelife.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the apparatus will now be described with reference tothe following figures, not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates a standard component of electronic equipment that israck mounted in computer data centers.

FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art method of mounting standard componentshorizontally.

FIG. 3A illustrates an electronic component showing its dimensions.

FIG. 3B illustrates schematic view of an embodiment of our rack thatmounts standard components vertically.

FIG. 4A. is a front view of the base, or back panel, of our rack.

FIG. 4B illustrates a more secure version of the base of our rack.

FIG. 5 is a view of the base of our rack showing two-post mounting.

FIG. 6 is a view of the base of our rack showing mounting into 16 incheson center solid wood wall studs.

FIG. 7 is a view of our rack showing the brackets thereof.

FIG. 8A is a more detailed illustration of one embodiment of thebrackets of our rack.

FIG. 8B is an illustration of one manner of attaching brackets to ourrack.

FIG. 8C is an illustration of longer brackets attached to a secureversion of our rack.

FIG. 8D is an illustration showing the front panel of our rack, and amethod of its installation.

FIG. 8E is an illustration showing the top cover of our rack and amethod of its installation.

FIG. 8F is an illustration showing the combination of the front paneland the top cover in relationship to each other.

FIG. 8G is an illustration showing the locking relationship of those thefront panel and the top cover.

FIG. 8H is an illustration showing the back of the top cover andillustrates how flanges allow the top cover to mate with the backingplate.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of our rack with two components mountedvertically thereon, also showing the location of patch panels and sidecomponents.

FIG. 10A is a perspective illustration showing our rack in“back-to-back” relationship.

FIG. 10B is an illustration showing a side view of our rack in a“back-to-back” relationship.

FIG. 10C is a perspective illustration showing our rack in“back-to-back” relationship, also illustrating how the components andthe patch panels can be mounted on a rack by screws.

FIG. 11 shows an alternate embodiment of our panel with a front paneland top panel arranged to allow easier access to the components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a standard component of electronic equipment 1 thatis rack mounted in computer data centers. Typical data centers maximizerack cabinet density, and standard cabinets are 30 to 34 inches indepth. Cabinet housings have 1.75 inch unit spacing which conforms tothe component multiplier. Standard battery backup power supplies, as anexample, are 2U high and 20-26 inches in depth.

FIG. 2 illustrates a typical prior art method rack for mountingcomponents of electronic equipment horizontally.

FIG. 3A illustrates a rack mountable component 1 that typically has adeep measurement of y inches, a height of x inches.

FIG. 3B shows the rack-mountable electronic component 1 verticallymounted on our rack 2. Rack 2 includes base 4 and brackets 7L and 7R.All parts of our rack can be made of 14 gauge steel. Component 1 ismounted vertically by the brackets or side panels 7L and 7R, whichinclude horizontal mounting surfaces 51A and 51B, and can be secured byscrews. Holes 53, as shown in FIG. 8A, may be included to facilitatemounting. The horizontal mounting surfaces 51A and 51B may be locatedbelow vertical mounting surfaces 50A and 50B. Vertical mounting surfaces50A and 50B may include holes 52 to facilitate mounting. The brackets orside panels of the rack are of length z which is shorter than the depthy of the rack-mountable component. Hence when the component 1 is mountedas shown, the square footage taken up by the rack with the componentmounted is less than in typical configurations used in the industry.

FIG. 4A shows a front view of the base, or back panel, 4 of our rack.Top access for data cable or power cable is seen at 6 a and 6 b.Built-in level 5 allows easy installation for single service personnel.Side panel 8 allows attachment of a 1U or 2U patch panel directly insidethe back panel without sacrificing any space in the mounting surface ofthe side panels. Openings 10 and 12 allow ancillary equipment, both rackand non-rack mountable, to be attached to the side panel by hanging orscrewing onto the back panel. Large rear panel access, 14, which may becircular or of other configuration, allows pass-through cable routing intwo-post back-to-back mounting applications. Bridge lances 16 areincorporated into the rack to allow data and power cable management forinput and output wiring with top or bottom egress, as well as tofacilitate service loops. A grounding stud 18 is integrated into thebase further assisting quick and convenient system installation. Thisprovides a method for easily attaching the installed equipment to abuilding's earth ground system. The back-plate of the rack allows threemounting options. Holes A (both left and right, with right hole A hiddenin the figure) accommodate toggle bolts for mounting on block walls oran electrical panel. Slots B are centered at 16 inches for allowing thebase to be secured by screws that are screwed into studs or other woodsurfaces using #10 or other suitable screws. Holes C allow mounting to atwo-post rack such as a standard two-post open frame rack. Finally, thebase has cutouts 13 on both sides of the base that match location oftabs on brackets 7L and 7R as illustrated subsequently in FIG. 8A andFIG. 8B.

FIG. 4B illustrates another, more secure, embodiment of the base of ourrack. This embodiment can incorporate certain of the features of FIG. 4Aand, in addition, is an elongated version with more secure features. Forexample, baffles 17 comprise a baffled air intake that can be on bothsides of the base or back plate for secure ventilation. This can workwith a temperature controlled fan tray assembly at the bottom of thebase, to be explained subsequently. Ancillary equipment such as a patchpanel or other equipment can be mounted, in the secure version, in the4U-10U (or other suitable dimension) bracket spaces, discussed above,which keeps the system secure.

FIG. 5 shows base 4 of the rack being mounted to a two-post (20, 22)computer rack. Both top and bottom of the two-post rack should besecured before loading our rack. The base can be installed using #12-24screws (24, 26) at the top using the integrated level 5 to locate theproper mounting pattern. Usually 10 screws are recommended for a fullpayload rating of our rack. The extended base 4 of FIG. 4B can be usedas well.

FIG. 6 shows mounting the base 4 into 16 inches on center wood (or otherappropriate material) wall studs 50, 52. The studs should be locatedbefore marking the top two locations for pilot holes. Pilot holes of0.150 inch, or other suitable dimension, can be drilled at the top usingthe integrated level 5 to locate the proper mounting pattern. One canbegin installing wood screws 24A, 26A in the pilot holes at the top andthen drill and install the remaining screws in the pattern. Ten screwsare recommended for full payload rating of the rack but any suitablenumber can be used.

Alternatively, the rack can be mounted to a cinder block or otherapproved hollow wall using hole pattern C shown in FIG. 4A. This isrecommended for high security applications.

For installation to an approved hollow wall, one would place the baseagainst the wall in the preferred location. Using the integrated level5, one would adjust the panel to level and then mark a minimum of thetwo top and bottom ½ inch or other suitable dimension clearance hole(hole C). The marked holes can be drilled and compression studs or otherassociated inserts can be applied as required. The base can be liftedand the bolts can hand tightened, with fender washers, most of the wayinto the stud and then all screws can be tightened. An approved hollowwall application is considered to be either a cinder block wall or NECtype ¾ inch plywood electrical panel backing using toggle bolts for asafely fully rated load of the rack.

For mounting on a block wall, ¼ inch by 3 inch toggle bolts can be usedto support the base of the rack. The hollow pocket in the block shouldbe located so that the toggle bolt can open properly to support theweight. Toggle bolt clearance hole can be ½ inch.

FIG. 7 illustrates brackets or side panels 7L, 7R that are attached tothe base 4 of the rack. The brackets can be marked in standard 1U (1.75inch) spacing set horizontally instead of vertically for the typicalcabinet. The rack allows attachment of the brackets by hooking spacedspring tabs into cutouts or notches, both the tabs and the notches areshown in FIGS. 8A to 8C. The brackets can be made in sizes such as 4U,6U, and 8U and typically use the same back-plate.

FIG. 8A shows brackets 7L and 7R. The illustration of bracket 7L showsits inside surface with tabs 9 running vertically, and bracket securityscrew hole 11. Bracket 7R is similar.

FIG. 8B shows a close up view of the bracket 7L being secured to base 4.Securing bracket 7R is done similarly. The base has cutouts 13 thatmatch the location of tabs 9 on bracket 7L. One bracket should beengaged on the base at a time, confirming that all tabs 9 are nestedinto cutouts or notches 13 on the base, and then slid down to fully setthe bracket. The clearance hole 11 in bracket 7L should align with athreaded hole 15 in the base or back plate. A screw such as a #12-24screw can be tightened through hole 11. Securing the opposite bracket 7Ris done in the same manner as described for bracket 7L.

FIG. 8C illustrates longer brackets 7L, 7R attached to a secure versionof our rack. A longer back panel can be used for a secure version of ourrack. Longer side brackets 7L and 7R can be used since the back panelcan accommodate all bracket sizes available, 4U through 10U, protectingthe entire height of the rack. After engaging the tabs, as previouslyexplained, two #12-24 safety screws can be installed through holes 11Aand 11B, installed much like element 11 in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, througheach side bracket. Patch panels, if desired to be used in the secureversion, can occupy hanging U space on the inside of brackets 7L, 7R.Tamping the bracket down with a mallet can be advisable, taking care toprotect the finish of the rack from marring by using a cardboard bufferwhile nesting the tabs. The brackets can have slots, here three, 19A,19B, and 91C, located on the front of each bracket firmly fitting frontpanel hooks, to be described, which slide down to fully set the bracket.The front panel is secured at the top with two #12-24 screws. Slots orcutouts 21 located at the bottom of each bracket will allow a fan tray,describe below, to slide in and be locked when the front panel isinstalled.

FIG. 8C also illustrates a fan tray, or fan assembly, 42, discussedbriefly above, that is sized to fit; and matched the U space of thebrackets and top cover from 4U to 10U cabinets, as one example. The fantray is aligned with fan grills and wiring facing up and slides into thecutouts 21 at the bottom of each side bracket. The bottom of eachbracket 7L and 7R can have bracket 21B affixed thereto by welding orother suitable securing means, to enable the fan assembly to slideappropriately into position. Each fan tray is sized to fit and matchesthe U space of brackets and top cover from 4U to 10U cabinets. The fantray assembly has an AC input cord 37 and a temperature sensing module39 attached. The sensor can be mounted centrally on the back panel bysliding the tab into one of the convenient bridge lances or by using thesupplied Velcro® (Velcro is a trademark of Velcro Industries). The ACinput plug of the fan tray should be connected to an internal AC source,and a UPS output, (if available), is recommended. The fan tray issecured by attaching the front panel to the left and right side panelsof the cabinet as explained more fully in FIG. 8D.

FIG. 8D illustrates how the front panel is installed via hooks intothree slots, 19A through 19F, in the front of both side brackets. Slots19A and 19B are hidden in this figure but are seen in FIG. 8C. Next,front panel 23 slides downward until security screws 25, 27 can beinstalled through holes at the top of front panel into holes 27A and 27Bin each side bracket.

As seen in FIG. 8E, once the front panel 23 is secured, the top cover 31can be slid into place. The high security double cam locks 33A, 33Bshould be in the unlocked (horizontal) position. Otherwise the cams willnot fit through the clearance cutouts 35 in the front panel. It will berecognized by one or ordinary skill in the art that many modificationscan be made in the top cover-front cover design without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the invention. As just one example, while theillustrated top cover actually goes over the front cover with a lockmechanism on the top cover and the receptacle for the lock on the frontcover, one could modify the secure rack so that the top cover abuts thefront cover behind the front cover, with the lock mechanism on the frontcover and the lock mechanism receptacle on the top cover. So the lockmechanism associated with the top cover and the front cover could belocated on either the top cover or the front cover, depending on how onedesigns the abutment of those two covers.

FIG. 8F shows the combination of the front panel and the top cover inrelationship to each other. FIG. 8G shows the locking relationship ofthose two elements. FIG. 8H shows the back of the top cover andillustrates how the flanges 32A-32C allow the top cover to mate with thebacking plate.

Another alternate embodiment is seen in FIG. 11. In that embodiment, asecure combination front panel and top cover is provided, the frontpanel and top cover secured at the top. This can be equipped severalways wherein after installation and set up, access to the front face ofthe mounted equipment can be done without the dismantling of the topcover. One way uses two rails or front frame attaching in various ways,the ways being within one of skill in the art, to the front edges of theleft and right brackets. The frame can allow the bottom edge of thefront panel pivot points and a stop mechanism to keep the front panelfrom swinging too far, thus preventing injury to the assembler or theperson accessing the mounted equipment. The top edge of the front panelwill have contact points for allowing a pivoting top cover to swingforward and engage the back plate in a similar fashion as the designthat was described earlier, and be held in place with one or more lockson the front panel. When opening, the top cover can swing down and reston the front panel, as seen in dashed line format, allowing front accessto the mounted equipment.

FIG. 9 shows the rack loaded with two different types of rack-mountableequipment components, 1, 3 in space saving vertical arrangement. Patchpanels 34, 36 can be added at the top of the base. Power distributionunit 38 can be added on the side of the base. Cable management hooks 40can be added to the top or the side to manage cables such as CAT5cables.

FIG. 10A is a perspective illustration showing our rack in“back-to-back” relationship to show one of the space saving featuresdescribed above. Only the base or back plate is shown in FIG. 10A butthe reader will appreciate that the entire rack can then be built upfrom that, as described above.

FIG. 10B is an illustration showing a side view of our rack in a“back-to-back” relationship. FIG. 10C is a perspective illustrationshowing our rack in “back-to-back” relationship, also illustrating howthe components and the patch panels can be mounted on a rack by screws.

While the rack has been shown in a preferred embodiment, it would beobvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that variations andmodifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Various types of uninterruptible power supplies,automatic transfer switches, maintenance bypass panels, and variousother power-related products, could be included. Changes to physicaldimensions, increased power capability, alternative plugs and ports, andappropriate cord lengths can also be made. In addition, singularsystems, such as a UPS with SNMP, can be configured. Additionalmodifications can include redundant UPSS, automatic transfer switches,power distribution units, and other ancillary equipment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A secure equipment rack for mounting atleast one component having mounting ears substantially coplanar with acomponent front surface, the front surface having a height dimension,and a width dimension, the component having a depth dimension extendingnormal to the front surface of the component, the secure equipment rackcomprising: a back plate having a top, a bottom, and sides, the backplate capable of being mounted to a substantially vertical surface, theback plate capable of having brackets mounted thereto; two brackets eachcapable of being mounted to the back plate, each of the brackets havinga surface oriented as a top surface when mounted to the back plate, thetop surface having a horizontal dimension extending normal to thesubstantially vertical surface, the horizontal dimension being 10U orless, the combination of the two brackets when mounted to the back platecapable of having mounted thereto the component oriented with the heightdimension substantially parallel to the horizontal dimension of the topsurface; a front cover for mounting to the secure equipment rack forcovering at least the front of a fan assembly and the brackets byfasteners; a top cover for covering at least the top of the secureequipment rack; and a locking mechanism for locking the top cover to thefront cover.
 2. The secure equipment rack of claim 1 wherein thesubstantially vertical surface is a two-post rack.
 3. The secureequipment rack of claim 1 wherein the substantially vertical surface isa wall.
 4. The secure equipment rack of claim 1 further including cablemanagement bridge lances on the back plate for dressing and tying downcables.
 5. The secure equipment rack of claim 1 wherein the back plateincludes an additional 2U or less of mounting space orientedsubstantially normal to the support surface of the two brackets.
 6. Asecure equipment rack for mounting at least one component havingmounting ears substantially coplanar with a component front surface, thefront surface having a height dimension, and a width dimension, thecomponent having a depth dimension extending normal to the front surfaceof the component, the equipment rack comprising: a subcombinationincluding: a back plate having a top, a bottom, and sides, the backplate capable of being mounted to a substantially vertical surface, theback plate capable of having brackets mounted thereto; two brackets eachhaving a top and a bottom, and each capable of being mounted to the backplate, each of the brackets, when mounted to the back plate, having ahorizontal dimension extending substantially normal to the back plate,the horizontal dimension being 10U or less, the brackets for supportingthe at least one component with the height dimension substantiallyparallel to the horizontal dimension; a mount on the bottom of thebrackets for a horizontal an assembly; a front cover for mounting to thesubcombination; a top cover for covering at least the top of thesubcombination; and a locking mechanism for locking the top cover to thefront cover.
 7. The secure equipment rack of claim 6 wherein thesubstantially vertical surface is a two-post rack.
 8. The secureequipment rack of claim 6 wherein the substantially vertical surface isa wall.
 9. The secure equipment rack of claim 6 further including cablemanagement bridge lances on the back plate for dressing and tying downcables.
 10. The secure equipment rack of claim 6 wherein the back plateincludes an additional 2U or less of mounting space orientedsubstantially normal to the support surface of the two brackets.
 11. Thesecure equipment rack of claim 6 including a built-in level.
 12. Thesecure equipment rack of claim 11 wherein the built-in level is on theback plate.
 13. The secure equipment rack of claim 6 including agrounding stud.
 14. The secure equipment rack of claim 13 wherein thegrounding stud is on the back plate.
 15. The secure equipment rack ofclaim 6 wherein the back plate includes slots for allowing the backplate to be secured to wood surfaces by fasteners.
 16. The secureequipment rack of claim 6 wherein the back plate includes holes forallowing mounting to a shallow wall by toggle bolts.
 17. The secureequipment rack of claim 6 wherein the back plate includes holes forallowing the back plate to be mounted on a two-post rack by fasteners.18. The secure equipment rack of claim 6 wherein the brackets includetabs and the back plate included cutouts, and the brackets areattachable to the back plate by nesting the tabs in the cutouts.
 19. Theequipment rack of claim 6 wherein the back plate is capable of having atleast one second component mounted thereto substantially perpendicularlyto the at least one component.